About
The character "柞" is structured with the wood radical (木) on the left and the phonetic component "乍" on the right, forming a pictophonetic character whose initial meaning pertained to the oak tree. Etymologically, it denoted specific species of oak, often referenced for their durable timber in early texts. Over centuries, its semantic range expanded to include derived terms such as "柞蚕", referring to the silkworm that consumes oak leaves, and it was adopted in various geographical names. The composition of "木" and "乍" has consistently defined its orthography in standard usage.
Etymology Hide
